In Arizona, Joe Biden apologizes for abuses at a US Native boarding school

GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMONWEALTH — President Joe Biden apologized Friday for the abuse committed against Native boarding school students for nearly 150 years, a “long overdue” and historic step that former students and their families have been waiting for.

“After 150 years, the United States government has finally discontinued the program, but the federal government has never, ever formally apologized for what happened, until today,” Biden told more than 1,000 tribal and local leaders and tribal members at the Riverside Indian Community Gathering Gila. “I formally apologize as the United States of America for what we have done.”

Biden, who was introduced by Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, said the apology was an attempt to “right a wrong” and say a long-ignored history that many Americans never knew about.

“Just because history is silent doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It took place,” Biden said. “Darkness can hide many things, but it erases nothing.”

The apology is “long, long overdue,” Biden said, his voice rising at times in a powerful speech that traced what he called a shameful history of taking children from their homes and robbing them of their families and cultural heritage.

“It is a sin on our souls,” he said, and then asked the audience to observe a moment of silence.

Biden delivered apology on tribal lands south of Phoenix in what could be his last visit to Arizona as president. Before leaving Washington on Thursday, he called the apology “something that should have been done a long time ago.” He was accompanied by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo and the first indigenous cabinet secretary.

The event featured dancing and singing from representatives of the Four Tribes of the South – the Pima-Maricopa Indians of the Gila, Ak-Chin and Salt Rivers and the Tohono O’odham Nation – and their neighbors, the Pee Posh Tribe.

Boarding schools: For almost 150 years, Native children were sent to residential schools. Here’s what you need to know

Under Biden and Haaland, the federal government completed a three-year study that examined the failed federal policy of sending Native children as young as 4 to remote boarding schools, which led to generations of trauma.

Bryan Newland, the assistant secretary of Indian Affairs who led much of the investigation, said Friday that during a visit to Australia to learn about the healing pathway in which First Nations have engaged, one of the women asked him when the healing work would be completed tribal nations. be done.

“When, when will we finish our work? When will it be enough?’” Newland said. “The lady said: ‘When we raise a whole generation of people from birth who will live life to the fullest and then leave this land without having to bear the trauma of their ancestors, then this work will be done.'”

Newland, a member of the Bay Mills Indian community, said the next president should continue the work of healing Indian country from the trauma caused by the boarding school era.

Hopi Vice President Craig Andrews, who attended Riverside boarding school in Nebraska, recounted his experiences.

“Even when I was in Head Start, we were still punished for speaking our language.” He said he still remembers when the teacher told the children to hold out their hands and then patted their fingertips.

Navajo Nation Speaker Crystalyne Curley said that while an apology does not undo generations of harm and destruction inflicted on Native people, she applauds President Biden for taking an unprecedented step toward healing and reconciliation.

“President Biden’s apology is a critical acknowledgment of the federal government’s past injustices and transgressions and lays the foundation for continued healing,” Curley said. “This moment is both an acknowledgment of what our children have endured and a commitment to a better future where our voices, cultures and traditions are protected and celebrated.”

During the event, Biden acknowledged the importance of appointing the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior.

“For the first time in history, a United States Cabinet secretary has shared the traumas of our past,” said Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo member whose grandparents were sent to residential schools. “I acknowledge that this trauma was perpetrated by the agency I currently lead.”

Biden said holding the event at Gila Crossing Community School, which the tribe oversees, was especially meaningful.

The event was temporarily interrupted by a lone woman who protested that there were more dead students in the unmarked burials than had been suspected. Biden told law enforcement to let her speak, then responded, “A lot of innocent people are being killed and it needs to stop.”

After a few minutes, officers escorted the woman away from the scene.

Tribal communities are struggling with the impact of thousands of children returning home without language, cultural ties and parenting skills because they have no parental role models. Children exposed to chronic stress became dysfunctional adults whose attempts at parenting created a new generation with similar problems.

The results were presented in the second of two reports released in May 2022 and July 2024.

Biden’s data on tribal investments and initiatives

During his speech, Biden also touted his investments and initiatives. The administration directed a government-wide effort to standardize tribal consultation on government policymaking, including natural resources and land use.

Over the past 3 1/2 years, the administration has made billions of dollars available to tribes for a variety of programs, including:

$32 billion for the American Rescue Plan, the largest-ever direct federal investment in tribal nations.
A $13 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill to build high-speed internet, roads, bridges, public transportation and sanitation in tribal communities.
$700 million in the Inflation Reduction Act to invest in indigenous communities for climate resilience and adaptation programs, drought mitigation, home electrification and clean energy development.
The commitment of billions of dollars in federal contracts – and a significant percentage of the agency’s total procurement dollars – to Native-owned or -controlled businesses under the Buy Indian Act, which was revived under the Biden-Harris administration.

Biden also created new national monuments such as Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona after tribes in three states demanded more protection. He restored the borders Bear Ears National Monument in Utah, which has been significantly reduced under Trump. In October, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration established Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

The administration also provided tribes with more opportunities for governance partnerships, such as a co-management agreement with 13 tribes that advocated for Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of Grand Canyon National Monument as well as the Bears Ears and Avi Kwa Ame monuments.

Haaland: “We’re still here”

Haaland thanked tribal members for their courage to speak out and share their pain in the face of injustice.

“It means everything to us to be with you today and with our brave president who realizes the impact this policy has had on each of us,” she said.

Despite many attempts over the years to destroy tribal cultures, languages and ways of life, she concluded that they had “failed”.

“Today is a day to remember, but it is also a day to celebrate our perseverance,” Haaland said.

“Despite everything that has happened, we are still here.”

Debra Krol writes about indigenous communities at the intersection of climate, culture and trade in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Arrival to the King at [email protected]. Follow her on X @debkrol.

Addressing indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and trade is supported by the Catena Foundation.

USA TODAY’s Michael Collins contributed to the report.